Time Bandits is one of those untouchable classic children’s films that experience tells me I shouldn’t show to my own children, for they will ruin my memories of it. Terry Gilliam’s time travel fantasy is a remarkably eccentric and dark film that feels distant from the current era of super-smooth, highly honed, cannot-fail mega-products, produced in writing room battery farms in the Disney castle.
The 1981 film told the story of Kevin, an 11 year old whose bedroom is invaded by a band of time-travelling dwarf thieves – led by the wonderful David Rappaport - who have stolen a map from the Supreme Being. Cameos from Gilliam’s Python chums Michael Palin and John Cleese, and other no-longer famous people like Sean Connery, help make this into one better left in your own fond memory banks than shown to Kids Today.
